Miscellaneous

Sugar

Desensitivity

I noticed during a long period of intense reduction of my sugar consumption during BodyBuilding, as well as through some anecdotal evidence from other sources and through friends, the sensation of "sweet things tasting sweeter" than I had remembered. It didn't surprise me too much to find this study indicating alteration of perceived "sweet taste."

Artificial Sweeteners

The FDA has a comprehensive list of approved artificial sweeteners and even addresses a lot of the issues brought forward by studies. In my opinion, this is much easier than wading through sensationalist articles found through any Google search that unfortunately beats out good science through SEO. Dr. Aaron Carroll also writes a comprehensive piece from 2015 about how sensationalism is educating people away from the perfectly sensible option of consuming these sweeteners.

Diet Sodas

It was hard for me to look at Diet Sodas and find research that made sense. A lot of the articles and papers boiled down to "we gave rats 20 diet sodas worth of aspartame and they got cancer."

My general guidance that has worked for me is to consume a fair amount of diet soda as desired (probably under 4 cans a day) but not to count the amount of liquid against your water intake goals for the day. Consult with your coach and likely abstain if you're attempting a major weight cut for some type of competition.

Foods

Kiwi

• Jeff Nippard talks about the Kiwi and, while he doesn't believe in the idea of a "superfood" he does lend a lot of credence to Kiwi fruits, with more evidence from this NIH 2013 study.

  • Incredibly high in Vitamins C, E, K, folate, carotenoids, potassium, fibre and phytochemicals

  • Improved iron consumption from other foods

  • Increased HDL, decreased triglycerides, platelet aggregation, reduced blood pressure

  • Incredibly rich in antioxidants.

  • Some evidence for supporting immune function.

• In my opinion, they taste great! They are relatively the same calorie/carb density by mass as an apple, despite being less than half the size (only about 42 calories per fruit!) and carry a much greater "sweet" sensation, akin to a pineapple.

• Apparently this has to be said to the surprise of some of my co-workers: the skin is edible and does in fact carry nutritious fiber, just give it a quick wash.

• I've taken to fitting at least one kiwi a day into my macros.